AI chatbot taking orders at Columbus Wendy’s with test results revealed
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Wendy’s has deployed an artificial intelligence chatbot at drive-thrus for at least four Columbus area restaurants, including its shop in Clintonville.
The company headquartered in Dublin previously told NBC4 of plans to test what it called FreshAI at an undisclosed Columbus storefront in June 2023. By December, Wendy’s Chief Information Officer Matt Spessard said the number of locations testing the generative AI had quadrupled. On Friday, a company spokeswoman shared sites with FreshAI in Columbus had grown to eight as part of its pilot run.
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The spokeswoman also revealed one of those FreshAI-enabled pilot shops was in Westerville, at 5771 Maxtown Rd. NBC4 went to the Wendy’s at 3592 N. High St. to test the chatbot deployed at that drive-thru as well.
FreshAI — made with Google Cloud and using a synthetic female voice — was able to identify itself when asked if the chatbot was taking an order. It also answered questions about the menu, such as the ingredients inside one of Wendy’s burgers, and named side options like fries available with a combo meal.
In an attempt to stress-test the AI, NBC4 asked to replace a previously ordered water with a lemonade, which the chatbot did without protest. It showed an itemized list before it finally revealed the FreshAI logo and the total cost at the end of the exchange. Text on-screen also suggested customers who “need to make a change or have questions” could talk to a real employee at the drive-thru window.
Wendy’s FreshAI is asked to replace an order of water with a cup of lemonade. (NBC4 Photo/Mark Feuerborn) A drive-through screen at a Columbus store shows the Wendy’s Fresh AI logo after completing an order. (NBC4 Photo/Mark Feuerborn)
The rest of the drive-thru experience remained unchanged from what has become standard in American fast food. A cashier, who asked how the FreshAI experience went, took payment before handing over a burger, fries and drink.
In December, Spessard wrote that Wendy’s would deploy FreshAI at more of its chain locations across the U.S., citing test results of orders taken “22 seconds faster” with “averaged 86%” accuracy. While he stressed FreshAI was “an assistant — not a replacement” for the human workers in the company’s stores, he noted it may go beyond the drive-thru.
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“We’re also offering opportunities for franchisees to pilot Wendy’s FreshAI in 2024, as we continue to receive interest from many who are eager to evolve their own restaurant experiences with this innovative technology,” Spessard wrote. “This could include integrating AI with the Wendy’s app, in-restaurant kiosks, mobile devices, smart home devices and more … however they choose to order.”
As of Friday, a Wendy’s spokeswoman confirmed that at least the drive-thru rollout had happened in at least Florida, but no franchisee-owned stores were testing the AI yet.
“Wendy’s FreshAI is now active across company-owned restaurants in multiple states, with more slated throughout 2024,” she wrote.
The FreshAI concept was first presented publicly by Wendy’s CEO Todd Penegor on his way out of the company. His replacement Kirk Tanner joined at the beginning of 2024, and was met with negative reception for another planned use of AI revealed in an investor conference call.
“Beginning as early as 2025, we will begin testing more enhanced features like dynamic pricing and daypart offerings, along with AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling,” Tanner said.
After backlash on social media over that strategy, which was interpreted as “surge pricing,” Wendy’s clarified its new CEO was referencing a different model of “dynamic pricing.”
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“Wendy’s will not implement surge pricing, which is the practice of raising prices when demand is highest. We didn’t use that phrase, nor do we plan to implement that practice,” the company said in a February email to NBC4.
Wendy’s Co. plans to invest about $20 million to launch digital menu boards –an apparent requirement for FreshAI and for its other artificial intelligence plans — at all of its U.S. company-run restaurants by the end of 2025. It also plans to invest approximately $10 million over the next two years to support digital menu enhancements globally.
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